


Legendary

by Pent



Category: Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Airplanes, Bittersweet, Holiday Fic Exchange, Hotels, M/M, Minor Diantha/Cynthia, New Year's Eve, Party, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 02:46:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5567383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pent/pseuds/Pent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wallace and Steven travel to Sinnoh for a New Year's Eve party, leaving Hoenn behind in a vulnerable state.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Legendary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suiraitei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suiraitei/gifts).



> This was written for the Tumblr originshipping Secret Santa organized by cherrytruck!!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS BUT I HOPE YOU LOVE IT, SARAR!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

Across the cramped airplane aisle from Wallace and Steven sat a man in a white suit. The man was transfixed on a book resting in his lap. His focus never wavered; he always turned the page. Restless, Wallace stole occasional glances at him, imagining a life in which he was the kind of person who could get lost in a book on an airplane, without the dark specters of guilt clouding his attention.

Although his mind wandered against the harsh hum of the airplane’s engines, Wallace’s thoughts always returned to the Cave of Origin, his abandoned post. He was worried despite both his own and Steven’s insistence that nothing was going to happen. The more Wallace tried to make peace with the idea, the tighter he wrapped his cold fingers around his PokéNav.

Steven held his hand tight, but his grip loosened as he fell into a deep sleep. Wallace gently freed his hand and fumbled with the TV screen embedded into the seat in front of him to put on a documentary featuring Hoenn’s historical sites, not minding the lack of sound or subtitles.

With a groggy sound, Steven adjusted himself in his seat and rubbed his face. He turned his attention to the small screen in front of Wallace, but Wallace was looking out the window. Steven squeezed his hand.

"It's not being monitored," said Wallace. "Not at all."

“I know…” Steven leaned over to peck Wallace on the cheek. "It’s only for a day. You need a break more than anyone in the world."

The dust and dirt on the plane window looked like stars against the dark, early morning sky. Wallace played with Steven's limp fingers, feeling each of his rings. He realized he was clenching his jaw and relaxed it. "I have this… terrible feeling, is all.”

Concerned, Steven laid his head on Wallace's shoulder, and Wallace put his arm around him in response, fixing his gaze on the window again.

"I'll call Phoebe the moment we land. She'll look into it," said Steven.

The idea felt wrong. It was five o’clock in the morning on the last day of the year, and Phoebe was undoubtedly not planning to spend the new year alone, performing tests on a cave. All because he, the cave’s guardian, was enjoying himself at a party halfway across the world. It felt wrong.

"No. That’s selfish," said Wallace. The uncertainty in his tone caught Steven’s full attention. An uncomfortable, calculated few moments passed and Wallace looked Steven in the eyes. “Say the cave is stable. What then? What if my worries are merely baseless paranoia?"

"Wallace… I trust your intuition. Everyone does. They’d be foolish not to after—" Steven stirred in his seat. “Phoebe won’t think twice about it. We’re just being careful. I’m sure everyone in Hoenn would prefer us to be over-careful than to ignore a potential disturbance.”

"What a day for this to happen.” Wallace leaned far back into his seat and let out a cold, quiet laugh. “I'll call Phoebe myself when we land. Only I should be to blame for this tasteless decision."

"Alright," said Steven. He frowned. “Anything that will put your mind at ease.”

Wallace closed his eyes, and then opened them. The near eco-apocalypse from less than a year ago performed a dangerous waltz in his mind.

 

* * *

 

Steven trailed off mid-sentence while giving the hotel employee behind the front desk his and Wallace’s check-in information. She glanced up at him expectantly, pushing a strand of her straightened black hair out of her face.

“My apologies… do you happen to have any other rooms available?” Steven asked. He gazed down at the desk, and Wallace gave him a hard, puzzled stare. “On the top floor, perhaps?”

“I can check, but… we’re quite booked for the holidays, Mr. Stone,” she said, typing into the computer without a glance at her keyboard.

“Thank you.”

One of the woman’s coworkers behind the front desk made a conflicted decision to abandon her workstation, rushing over to Steven and Wallace. Brightly, she said, ”Steven Stone and Champion Wallace! Sorry for the—it’s an honor to see you both in person.”

Wallace gave her a warm smile, which Steven copied after a moment's hesitation.

Steven booked their new room while Wallace leaned over the front desk and talked to the ecstatic employees, who one-by-one formed into a bigger and bigger cluster. He gave them each his autograph when he sensed that they were too embarrassed to ask outright. Steven was infatuated by Wallace’s calm warmth—how energized he seemed by their presence.

“My contest reign is over. For the time being,” said Wallace with a chuckle. “I implore you to keep an eye on my gorgeous young niece, Lisia. Only fifteen years old and far beyond my level. Perhaps she’ll make her way to Sinnoh soon. I know she will. Please, give her your full attention. She’s a star in Hoenn.”

Wallace and Steven took the elevator to the top floor and entered a lavish room with a window that stretched the entire length of the far wall. Wallace set his things down on the bed and looked outside the window, running a hand through his hair. The view of Sinnoh outside was cascaded in grey fog, the morning sun obscured by snowy clouds.

He made his way over to Steven, who was rifling through his suitcase in the far corner away from the window. With a laugh, he said, “Steven. What possessed you to ask for this room? It’s too much, love. We’re only here for a day.”

Wallace crouched down and gave Steven a gentle kiss on the cheek that made Steven want nothing more than to kiss him back. After cleaning up his things, he did. “I don’t know,” said Steven. “I thought you would like it.”

“It’s lovely. Really.”

The long plane ride wordlessly dictated their decision to take a nap before going to Cynthia’s party. The hotel room looked lonely with the blinds shut and curtains pulled, but Steven and Wallace were satisfied snuggling close to each other on the bed.

When Steven was nearly asleep, Wallace turned on and muted the TV, flipping the channels to a live broadcast of the Hoenn news. With great effort through his heavy eyelids, Steven looked at the TV and then at Wallace, who was holding his head to his chest and stroking his hair. Wallace kissed his forehead and whispered, “Please. Get some rest, love.”

 

* * *

 

The wind howled viciously. Harsh droplets of ice lashed Steven and Wallace's faces as they trudged through the snow together towards the welcoming, warm light glowing through the frosty window of Cynthia’s front door. Loud winds swept up layers of snow that faded into gentle dust against the dark evening sky.

When they got to the porch, Wallace knocked on the door as hard as he could through his thick gloves. Almost immediately, Cynthia swept the two inside, forcing the door shut behind her. "Wallace! Steven! I'm so glad you two made it here safe. We weren’t expecting this awful weather.”

“Thank you,” said Wallace. Cynthia pulled him into a hug, not minding the wet snow against her shimmering black dress. From the entryway, they heard the other guests laughing and chatting in the living room, a jarring contrast to the lonely storm outside. "Always a pleasure to see you. You look marvelous."

“Oh, stop that,” she said, pulling Steven into a hug as well. "It's so good to see you two. God, it's been forever. We have a lot of catching up to do."

The two were shedding their many layers when Diantha walked past entryway balancing many drinks in her arms. She came to a sharp halt when she saw them. “Steven and Wallace! Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here. Dinner is set up in the kitchen. Please grab something if you’re hungry.”

“Thank you, dear,” said Wallace.

Once free from their winter clothes, Cynthia led Wallace and Steven into the crowded living room. Glasses of champagne lined every flat surface and the room was filled with people, some of whom they recognized, but with a fair mix of strangers.

“Everyone. I’m sure you all know, but this is Champion Wallace and former Champion Steven from Hoenn,” Cynthia announced. Wallace drew his full attention to Steven, whose silence spoke lengths to him. He took Steven’s hand, readjusting his firm grasp in such a way that made Steven flash a shy smile at the other guests.

All was well while the party progressed into the night. When midnight was in less than an hour, the living room parted into guests watching the television with quiet chatter, and guests engaged in deeper conversations on the other side of the room.

Byron, whom Steven had met that night, stood with one leg propped on a chair. His booming voice projected his story to everyone in the room. Steven listened from his seat, taking short sips of champagne and occasionally glancing over at Wallace across from him, who was engaged in a conversation with Cynthia and Diantha. Wallace held his hand out, and they took it, gushing over his wedding ring.

“—why would there be a rocky wall so thin so deep in the mine? It didn’t add up to anything, so we decided to check around before smashing it. Gwaahaha! Steven, you’re not gonna believe what was inside.”

“What?”

“Gemstones! Tons of ‘em. An entire room deposit of all kinds of gems.”

Steven’s eyes lit up. “That’s… amazing. How big would you estimate the cavern is? So many different gems in such a small space… it’s almost concerning. Have you left it mostly in tact? I would love to see it with my own eyes…”

“It’s smaller than you’d think—less than half the size of this room, I’d say! But the best part is—”

Wallace’s PokéNav rang and the world stopped. Without a word or apology, Wallace stood, answering it at the first ring. His face turned dark as he left the room, and Steven felt sick.

“Sorry. Excuse me,” Steven murmured. He stood, unsteady, and patted Byron once on the leg in apology before following after Wallace out of the living room with his head down. Byron was thrown off, but continued telling his story to anyone who was listening after Steven left the room.

In the entryway, Wallace struggled to get his coat on while holding his PokéNav between his shoulder and cheek. Steven could faintly hear Phoebe’s voice over the line, but Wallace said nothing. When Steven wrapped his arms tight around him from behind, Wallace jumped. Hand shaking, he held it over Steven’s while Steven helped him zip his coat up.

 

* * *

 

The blizzard’s aftermath was quiet and peaceful despite the flurry of snowflakes raining from the sky. With a heavy sigh, Wallace leaned against the snowy porch handrail in exhaustion. "Thank you, Phoebe." He hung up his PokéNav and stared down at the snow piling on the ground.

Steven did the same, nuzzling close to Wallace. The silence that followed was pure—a cleansing, once-in-a-lifetime silence that seemed like it could only happen so close to a fresh new year in the tranquility of a silent, snowy night.

Careful as to not break the magic by creaking the porch too much, Steven stood up straight and removed his scarf. He wrapped it gently around Wallace's neck, obscuring his face. Wallace snapped out of his reveries to adjust it. "You're shivering," said Steven.

"Thank you, love," said Wallace, giving Steven a warm kiss. He tore his transfixed gaze from the darkness ahead of him and faced Steven. "Do you know why it snows in Sinnoh exclusively? And rarely so in its neighboring regions?"

Steven shook his head, unable to read Wallace’s expression. "Tell me.”

“Giratina.” A faint smile appeared on Wallace's face. He looked out into the darkness again. "People believe that snow is an aftermath of a curse attempted by the legendary Giratina, set upon these lands in order to destroy humankind. To freeze over the world of humans and pokémon to make it as dark and unstable as the nightmarish universe from which Giratina came."

Silent with interest, Steven leaned against the handrail again, as close as he could to Wallace. Wallace briefly rested his head against Steven’s. “It’s a myth with similar roots to other regions’ folklore. I’m sure you can infer the rest of the tale from that alone. Giratina’s curse failed. The hearts of pokémon are pure, too pure to be corrupted by such a dreadful curse. The snow is not the curse at all, but physical evidence of life’s strong-willed fight against darkness and corruption. With that alone, Sinnoh was able to create something beautiful out of something cold, dark, and menacing—so say the legends. But legends and myths…”

A long, difficult silence followed. Steven put his arm around Wallace, eyes unfocused and cast downward. "There is truth to legends and myths, perhaps far more truth than anyone imagines. We've both seen legends come to life with our own eyes. The impossible, the surreal. Legends are never baseless in fact,” said Wallace. He closed his eyes. “I’m… afraid.”

Steven’s heart sunk. There was nothing he could say, and nothing he needed to say.

Fireworks sounded in the far distance. Steven pulled up the sleeve of his coat to look at his watch. He pulled Wallace into a long kiss, met first with tense surprise and then tender acceptance as Wallace's cold cheeks heated. When their mouths no longer met, Wallace laughed. "Goodness, Steven. What was that for?"

"It's the new year," said Steven, showing Wallace his watch. "Happy new year."

“Oh. I…” Flustered, Wallace kissed Steven back. "Happy new year, love. I lost track of the time."

More fireworks sounded in the distance, and the sky lit up a beautiful red somewhere far away. Muffled cheers and laughter sounded from inside the house. "You're shivering again,” said Steven, stepping away from the handrail.

Wallace looked back at the flurry of snow against the dark night before walking to the door and resting his hand on the knob. “Steven, let’s go back inside.”


End file.
